In the 1990s some of us had pagers, fewer had a mobile, and social media didn't exist. Photograph: Martin Argles for the Guardian

In the 1990s some of us had pagers, fewer had a mobile, and social media didn't exist. Online interactions mostly took place between computer science students in cliquey chat rooms. Leo slipped out of Kate's reach on the Titanic and MC Hammer released U Can't Touch This. Much seemed out of reach in the 90s, but only just.

I felt there was a need for getting in touch, and I found this out when friends would borrow a London telephone directory I kept at home. With the sharing of data in its infancy, there was the potential to connect people more efficiently. 192.com was born in 1997 providing free directory enquiries and millions of enhanced residential and business records to the paying public.

The dotcom boom of the 90s saw the first wave of tech startups and although 192.com is still up and running, there are a number of lessons which can be learned from previous experience. Here are my seven top tips.

1. Do not consider the internet to be risk free. Focus on every detail of your business plan, and get expert advice on it. This can spare you from getting burned later on.

2. In the 1990s we had to scour online message boards populated by peripheral interest groups. There is now more mainstream opinion and expertise to tap into through social media and online surveys, for example. Talk to business angels and potential investors to flesh out your idea. They are a great source of free advice.

3. In the 1990s many of us were flying blind. You no longer need to. Today it's much easier to test a product before launching it. Take baby steps and test everything you can as soon as you can. Even test advertise your product. Work closely with your developers to build a good website for less capital investment and test and retest your product online. Then raise awareness of it through social media.

4. Keep it simple. Focus on your key service and core customer. When we started 192.com in 1997 the site was about matching a name with official contact details. It's now about connecting businesses with their customers and facilitating identity and background checking. Yet, the simple concept of matching a name to an address still underpins everything we do.

5. Do not confuse the popularity of your website with cashflow – your focus should be on making money. Know your audience, the service they require and focus on delivering it to them. I found a way to provide the edited electoral roll and the telephone directory to the public for a fraction of the price than what was being offered by a telecoms business and credit reference companies and by putting this data on to a CD-ROM and later, online, this enabled me to deliver a service that was cheaper, and crucially, faster.

6. Pick up the phone and have meetings. In the 1990s not everybody had email, and nobody had Skype. Technology should not be used to hide behind. Network in person, and remember that a handwritten letter is as effective as it ever was. We were also better at keeping appointments. If you say you're going to be somewhere, be there – don't bail out with a text.

7. Do not diversify too early. When launching an online business you may be tempted to think of all the platforms it should exist on. Should it be desktop-based or mobile-based, or both? Let the service you're providing decide the platform, not the other way around. Your site's statistics will tell you what people like and show you where you can improve it.

In the 1990s we thought the sky was the limit. It still is. The internet is not a new concept but it is still relatively young. It's going to grow into something very different in the next 20 years.